Hard Sun (song)

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"Hard Sun"
Single by Indio
from the album Big Harvest
Released1989
Genre Folk rock
Songwriter(s) Gordon Peterson

"Hard Sun" is a 1989 song written and performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Peterson, known as Indio. It was the first single released off the artist's sole album Big Harvest, and reached #10 in Canada. [1]

Contents

In 1990, "Hard Sun" was honored by SOCAN as one of the ten most popular Canadian songs of the previous year, alongside songs by Ian Thomas, Alannah Myles, One to One, Frozen Ghost, Blue Rodeo, Bruce Cockburn, Candi, Glass Tiger and Sheriff. [2]

Eddie Vedder cover

"Hard Sun"
Single by Eddie Vedder
from the album Into the Wild
ReleasedSeptember 18, 2007
Recorded2007
Studio Studio X, Seattle, Washington
Genre Folk rock
Length
  • 5:22
  • 4:31 (radio edit)
Label J
Songwriter(s) Gordon Peterson
Producer(s)

"Hard Sun" gained a lot of attention when Eddie Vedder, the frontman of American rock band Pearl Jam, covered the song for the Into the Wild Soundtrack . Corin Tucker provided backing vocals. In 2007, Sean Penn approached Eddie Vedder about creating a soundtrack for his upcoming film Into the Wild. Vedder put together a compilation of songs that included some instrumental and vocal experimentations, some originals and two covers – "Society" by Jerry Hannan and Indio's "Hard Sun". The latter was the album's first single, and it was a hit, reaching #13 on the Modern Rock charts and #23 in Canada. Vedder's version of "Hard Sun" was released as a CD single with the radio edit of the song as the first track, and the full album version as the second track.

Charts

Chart performance for "Hard Sun" (Indio)
Chart (1989)Peak
position
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [3] 10
Chart performance for "Hard Sun" (Eddie Vedder)
Chart (2007)Peak
position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100) [4] 23
Canada Rock ( Billboard ) [5] 2
US Adult Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [6] 4
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [7] 13

Lawsuit

Eddie Vedder was sued by Indio for "eroding" the integrity of the composition by altering some of the song's original lyrics. Also the Universal Music company was sued, because it released "Hard Sun" on the soundtrack album without Indio's approval. [8] [9]

The suit against Vedder was dismissed, [10] while a simultaneous suit against Universal was dropped after Universal and Peterson reached an undisclosed settlement. [11]

References

  1. ↑ "Indio – Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Cockburn honored". The Globe and Mail , September 26, 1990.
  3. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6439." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Eddie Vedder Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  5. ↑ "Eddie Vedder Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  6. ↑ "Eddie Vedder Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  7. ↑ "Eddie Vedder Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  8. ↑ "Eddie Vedder Sued over "Hard Sun" Lyric Changes". Rolling Stone . December 30, 2009. Archived from the original on May 28, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Eddie Vedder Sued Over "Into the Wild" Soundtrack Song". The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on September 28, 2024. Retrieved September 28, 2024.
  10. ↑ Paul Elliott, "15 Years Ago, Eddie Vedder Was Sued Over Changing The Lyrics In A Song". Screen Rant , April 23, 2025.
  11. ↑ Richard Vanderford (May 23, 2011). "Universal Settles Suit over 'Into the Wild' Song". Law360.
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